


Old Scars, Future Hearts

by Rionaa



Series: Soulmates [5]
Category: All Time Low, Bandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Kid!Fic, M/M, Major Character Injury, Soulmate-Identifying Bruises
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-15
Updated: 2017-09-08
Packaged: 2018-05-26 21:47:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 20
Words: 7,581
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6257110
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rionaa/pseuds/Rionaa
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When you received an injury, it showed up on your soulmate as well.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Jack was a fairly normal child. He ran. He jumped. He climbed trees. He fell out of trees. He almost always had a scraped knee or a bruised elbow. When he went to school, he fought, as he got older, he started coming home with black eyes and bruised ribs. He was constantly bruised or bleeding. The trouble was, all of the marks had been made by him. All except one. He had a scar up his left leg, almost surgical in appearance. It was faded, as it had appeared when he was four years old. However, since that day, he had not found another mark that he didn't remember putting there.

Jack knew the stories. There were people who never found marks, people whose bodies were only bruised by their own actions. People without a soulmate. People who's soulmate had died.

Because that was what the marks were. What they meant. When you received an injury, it showed up on your soulmate as well. 

When Jack was fifteen, he decided that he was one of the Lonely, the people without soulmates.

He withdrew to his room for almost a week.

Two days before his sixteenth birthday, everything changed.

Jack woke up that morning and blinked, trying to open his eye. It was swollen almost completely closed. Shaking his head, he swung his legs out of bed, trying to think back to the day before. Had he been in any fights? He couldn't remember any, maybe he had a concussion and had forgotten? That was worrying. He reached up a hand to push his hair away from his other eye, and, okay, that was definitely not there before. 

A large, fierce, red raw bruise encircled his wrist. He rubbed it. No pain. What. The. Fuck. He looked down at his other hand to see the same injury echoed there. He looked down at his bare feet. Similar marks surrounded his ankles.

Jack began to panic. "Mom!" He yelled, hoping that she would be able to tell him what had happened, what he had missed.

"What is it, honey?" She asked, poking her head round his bedroom door.

"What are these?" He demanded, thrusting his arms out for her inspection.

She looked up at him sharply. "What?"

"These marks! What are they?"

"They look like... Like handcuff marks. Jack-"

"What!" His hands flew to his hair and he turned away, breathing fast.

"Have you been- I mean, I know there are people who enjoy-"

"I don't know! I dont remember! I don't remember this either, oh god-" he pointed to his black eye, then fell back onto the bed with a groan. His mother looked at him worriedly, then sat down beside him.

"Do you think you could have been drugged or something last night?"

"No! I don't know-"

"Do you want to go to the police?"

Jack swallowed nervously before nodding. "Let me just get dressed first." 

She nodded. "Do you want any help? Bandages?"

"No, they don't hurt, I can do it "

She frowned, but left the room anyway, leaving Jack to pull on his clothes with shaking hands.


	2. Chapter 2

At the police station, Jack was examined and questioned by three different people. Photos were taken of all of his injuries, and at last he was led to a seat and given some time to breathe.

"Mr Barakat, has it occurred to you that these may be marks from injuries given to your soulmate?"

Jack didn't even have to think before the chuckle burst from his throat. "I don't have a soulmate."

"It is the most obvious explanation. Of course we will explore other possibilities, but..." The woman trailed off, her implication obvious.

"I don't... I dont have a soulmate. I think I'd know if I did." Jack huffed angrily. 

Just then a voice came over the speaker system. "Attention all staff, there has been an urgent call, reported violent kidnap, at the Gaskarth household, all staff members not unavoidably detained required on scene."

Jack's police woman gave him an apologetic look. "I have to answer this. Do you have someone to take you home?"

"I- yeah, my mom's here."

She nodded. "Okay. I hope you find your soulmate."

"I told you, I don't have-" but she was already gone.

Jack got to his feet and went to find his mother.

She looked at him sympathetically and drew him into a hug. "What did they say?"

"They said- they said it was my soulmate." He muttered into her shoulder.

She gasped slightly and pulled away to look sincerely into his face. "What did you-"

"I told them I dont have a soulmate."

"Jack-"

"I'd know by now if I did. Don't you think?"

Jack shouldered past her and went to sit in the passenger seat of the car. He was silent for the whole ride home, the police woman's words echoing around his head.

When he got home, Jack googled soulmates, but instead of going to his usual forums for the Lonely, he clicked onto an information site about soulmarks and how they work. Twenty minutes later, Jack's head was spinning. According to seven different websites, including Wikipedia, the bruises and injuries that showed up on the unaffected party would not cause pain, blood loss or death, even if that were the case for the other person.

Jack looked down at his hands, encircled by chafed, raw flesh. The skin had begun to peel away in some places, yet he felt no pain from it. He reached up to touch a hand to his swollen eye, but felt nothing. As he thought about it, he felt the skin on his lower lip split apart. 

Jack barely held in a scream and he raced to find his mother.

"Jack?" She looked up from what she was doing, her eyebrows knitting in concern, "what is it? What's wrong?"

"I have a soulmate," Jack panted, "and they're in trouble."


	3. Chapter 3

"What?" His mother looked at him, her eyes wide in amazement. "What do you mean?"

"I have a split lip!"

"Did you not before?"

"No! I-" he shuddered, "I felt it. My skin splitting."

Thats when she seemed to register the second part of what he'd said. "In trouble?"

"Yes! These injuries just keep appearing, and they've never happened before! Something must have changed!"

"Okay, uh, what do you want to do about it?"

"What can you do about it?"

"Try to find out who they are. What are all your injuries all told?"

"Black eye, split lip, hand cuff marks on my wrists and ankles, but they keep getting worse so the cuffs must still be on."

"Anything else?"

"No, not yet..." He grimaced as he realised the implications of what he'd just said.

"Okay, so what do you think it is?"

"I don't know, could be a criminal?"

"Oh. But didn't you say the split lip happened after the handcuffs? And the cuffs are still on, that would mean they were hit while still in police custody."

"Okay, well it's a possibility, what if they're an ethnic minority? Police don't care about black rights!"

"Okay, uh, so do you want to go back to the police?"

"What are they going to do? Besides, they're all called out to that kidnap!" Jack's hands went to his hair, clutching at it in anguish.

"Okay, love, calm down, how about we watch some TV or something, be aware if anything new happens."

"Okay..." Jack nodded and she took his hand and led him into the sitting room.

"-soulmate, who may know something about the sudden disappearance of Alex Gaskarth, son of notorious businessman, who was taken violently from his house in the early hours of this morning. It is thought that violence was used, and this may be-"

"Sorry, Jack, I'll put something more sensitive on if you-"

"No! Put it back on..."

"Okay..." She pressed the button on the remote again, but when the image returned, the news story was over.


	4. Chapter 4

Alex Gaskarth. The name seemed to strike a cord deep inside Jack. All the rest of the day the name ran around his head. He had put the name into google and found out that the guy was the son of a rich businessman, who lived on the other side of Baltimore. Jack couldn't figure out why this seemed so important, but he couldn't get the boy out of his head. 

He found photos of Alex at business conferences with his father. He seemed to have a perpetual grin on his face, but even Jack could see that it was fake. Mr Gaskarth was clearly bringing him up to follow in his footsteps.

Then Jack found Alex's tumblr account. He actually found it through excessive facebook stalking. What he found there shocked him.

“We're all part of the same, sick little games,  
And I need a get-away  
I'm wasting my days, I throw them away,  
Losing it all on these sick little games.”

“You spin your words like a record in motion,  
Step into the party, step out a commotion,  
With stars in your eyes,  
And with fire at your fingertips,  
Burn down this city and everyone in it,  
Singing, "Oh, we are the dancers!"”

“Lets take a moment to reflect,  
On the past few years of my life,  
I haven't worked myself away,  
To stay inside.”

Alex was a songwriter! Jack read and reread the lyrics several times. The words were heartbreaking. Despite his original doubts as to Alex's character, Jack felt compelled to be sympathetic. Not every rich kid was a spoiled brat. And by the looks of things, Alex was having a very hard time. He scrolled down slowly, finding more song lyrics, reblogs of funny, pointless posts, gifs and photosets, and bands! Jack felt a growing excitement as he spotted several of his favourite bands. He scrolled back up to the top, hit follow, then remembered why he was even looking up Alex Gaskarth in the first place. He felt his stomach hit the floor. Alex had been kidnapped. Violently.

Just as the thought struck him, he felt a strange tingling just over his ribs. Lifting his shirt, he found a large burn, his skin turning red and inflamed, though he felt no pain. And the area was just getting larger. Jack stared down in horror, before a wound opened up down the centre of the burn. That was no accidental injury. This was deliberate. Somewhere, his soulmate was getting tortured.


	5. Chapter 5

Jack stared down in shock. What could he do? Who should he tell? Never mind worries about the police, this was serious.

“Mom, I need you to take me back to the police station.” He lowered his shirt slowly, keeping his voice carefully controlled.

“Why? What's happened?”

“I think my soulmate is being tortured.”

There was silence in the car on the way to the police station. Jack's mom kept shooting him worried glanced but he stared straight ahead. On arrival, he all but sprinted inside.

“Woah, calm down, young man, what's the problem?”

“It's my soulmate, I think they're being tortured!”

“Okay, what can you tell us? Do you know who they are or where they are?”

“No, I didn't even know I had one until today...” Jack trailed off, tears springing to his eyes. All this time, he never knew, but what a way to find out.

“What injuries have you found? Will you allow us to take photos of any injuries or previous scars that might help us to identify your soulmate?”

“Yes, yes of course.”

Jack was led down a corridor and into a white, sterilised room, where he was asked to remove any clothing obscuring the injuries. Pictures were taken from multiple angles and more questions were asked, which he answered with the bare minimum, his head was spinning.

Finally, he showed them the only older marking he had from his soulmate.

“And this is the only other mark you've ever received from them?” an older male officer asked.

Jack swallowed. “Yes. For a while, because I hadn't seen any others, I thought they had died, or, or didn't exist, or something.”

“And how old were you when you received this?”

“Four. That was twelve years ago.”

“Okay, thank you, Mr Barakat. We'll let you know if we find anything.”

Jack was handed his clothes, and dressed himself without a word, before following the officer back out of the door to find his Mom.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so so sorry for the long wait! But here, have some Alex to make up for it!

When he arrived back home, Jack went to his room, ignoring his mother's worried calls. He flopped down on the bed with a sigh, before dragging his laptop onto his lap and opening it. He had forgotten what he had been looking at, so when he saw Alex Gaskarth's blog he was shocked. He clicked away from the tab and brought up Facebook. He hovered the cursor over his best friend's name, but what could he say? “Hey, Rian, you know how I've always thought I didn't have a soulmate, well, turns out I do and they're being tortured and I might never get to meet them”?

Oh, God. He might never get to meet them. They could die in the hands of their captors and he would never find out who they were until it was too late. Sliding his laptop back off his lap, Jack brought his legs up onto the bed, buried his face in his hands, and let himself cry. 

* * *

Alex groaned as he lay in the semi darkness, slowly regaining consciousness. From what he had been able to gauge, he had been in captivity for about twenty four hours, but that was all out of whack now. He had no way of telling how long he had been unconscious for.

He forced his left eye open – the right was too swollen to move at all. He couldn't see far, but he could ascertain that he was in a small cell, no larger than ten feet wide, and he was alone. It was almost a relief. He had been almost constantly accompanied by strange men ever since his capture. 

He thought suddenly of his soulmate. He knew that he had one, he had been constantly covered in bruises and grazes for as long as he could remember. He often worried when he found an especially large and painful looking injury, and wondered how his soulmate had got it. His father would often grow angry if he saw one of the injuries.

“Your future wife is clearly not the sort of person that we want you to be associating with! If she gets herself into fights like this one a regular basis, she's probably going to be the sort of woman that lets other men rape her, and then what a scandal that would be for us, wouldn't it, my boy!” After that, Alex had done his best to cover up his soulmate's injuries, desperate that, whoever it might be, would perhaps be able to meet his father's approval. 

Alex took many issues with his father's vendetta against his soulmate. He was inherently sexist, supported victim blaming in rape cases, and was predominantly obsessed with his own business and success, overlooking other people's misfortune that was caused by his own greed. But by far the worst part, at least from his own point of view, was that Alex was gay. Most definitely, and without a shadow of a doubt. And he knew that he could never tell his father, not if he wanted to remain in his home. 

Alex wondered where his soulmate was now. He hoped they were okay. He wondered if it came as a surprise that he even existed, his father had always kept him practically in bubble wrap and packing peanuts for his whole life, he had only one mark that was not from his soulmate, and he was almost too young at the time to remember it. One scar on his lower leg, a surgical scar from when he was four years old. 

Maybe his soulmate thought he was dead. 

Maybe he soon would be. 

Maybe that would be for the better.


	7. Chapter 7

Jack was awoken at 7:00 on the dot the next morning by the sound of the phone ringing. Blearily, he got to his feet and answered it.

“Hello?” he croaked, sleepily.

“Hi, is that Jack Barakat?”

“Speaking, how can I help you?”

“Great, it’s officer March, I’m with the police, and I think we may have discovered something pertaining to your soulmate.”

“Who is it? Can you help them?”

“I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you to return to the station, Mr Barakat, before I can give you any further information.”

“What?” Jack was incensed.

“I’m sorry, its in the rules.”

“Right, okay, I guess I’ll be there soon.”

Jack woke his Mom, apologising that they hat to return once again to the police station, and wishing wholeheartedly that he was just a little bit older so that he could drive himself.

“No, it’s okay, I don’t mind.” He still felt a little guilty though.

When they got to the station, his Mom dropped Jack off at the front door, driving away again to park the car. He ran inside and to the front desk.

“Hello, can I help?” asked the bored looking woman at the desk.

“I had a call from officer March, she said I had to come down to the station before she could tell me anymore.”

“Of course.” the woman looked down at her desk and pressed a call button, “Hello Daisy, I've got a young man here says he wants to talk to you,” pause, “okay, she's on her way.” 

Jack smiled halfheartedly at the woman, who ignored him. Turning around, he was faced with a friendly looking woman, who held out her hand to him. “Hello, are you Mr Barakat?” 

He nodded, suddenly finding himself unable to speak.

“Come with me please, I have some information for you.”


	8. Chapter 8

“We think we may have identified your soulmate.”

Jack stared blankly at the woman in front of him. “Well?”

She hesitated for a second. “It's Alex Gaskarth. Our missing persons case, you may have heard about it, it was on the news.”

Jack was stunned. He shook his head. “I- what?”

“We can't confirm it of course, but given the evidence that you have provided us with, we are fairly confident in this.”

“I- I don't understand. What- how-”

She gave him an almost pitying look. “We would like to examine your injuries one more time, if that's alright with you? It will give us a better idea of what to expect, when we do find him, and maybe give us an indication as to where he is being held, and by whom.”

Jack nodded. “So- so are you any closer to finding him?”

“I'm afraid I am not at liberty to say that.”

“But I'm his soulmate! Please, don't I deserve to know?”

“I'm sorry, Mr Barakat, but those are the rules, and I have got to stick to them.”

Jack nodded dumbly. “When you do find him, will you tell me then? Why did you even let me know about this if you can't tell me any more?”

She sighed. “Look, it's not up to me, its just the rules. If it were up to me, then maybe you would be more informed. But given the high profile nature of this case, and the people involved, it would be very bad practise and could lead to me losing my job and potentially imprisonment for the both of us. It's a breach of privacy. But...” she hesitated and Jack leaned in further, “I will tell you, and you must not repeat this to anyone, we believe that we may have his location narrowed down to a radius of two and a half miles. When we do finally locate him, I don't know how much information I will be able to give you, but I will do my best to keep you informed.”

Jack smiled at her, thankful for this piece of information, then stood up to leave.


	9. Chapter 9

When he got home, Jack picked up his phone and called Rian. 

“Hey, man, what's up? Haven't heard from you in a while, is everything okay?”

Jack didn't mean to, he really didn't, but suddenly he was pouring out everything to his best friend. “Rian, I have a soulmate, and it's Alex Gaskarth, but he's missing, he's been kidnapped, and he's being tortured, and the police don't know where he is, and I found his tumblr and I don't know him but I want to and now I might never get the chance, all this time when I didn't believe I had a soulmate, I could have been trying to find him but now it's too late, Rian, I don't know what to do-”

“Woah, Jack, I'm coming over okay, then we can go out, get some distraction therapy, cool?”

“Yeah, sure, man, let's do it. I just, yeah. Thanks.”

“It's okay, see you soon man.”

~

Jack and Rian were walking down town with Zack. All three boys were slightly tipsy and slightly stoned.

“Woah, guys, what's that?” Zack pointed to police tape stretched across the back entrance of a condemned building.

“I dunno, let's check it out!” Rian headed forwards and ducked under the tape first. The other boys followed. 

Once inside the door, the three boys exchanged looks. At first glance, the inside of the building was much like any other, dusty and grey, uninteresting. But then, Jack noticed something. 

“Guys, look at this!” He crouched beside the blood stain on the ground. The others crowded over him, peering down at it.

“Dude, it's still wet!” Rian exclaimed, looking excited.

“What if the person whose blood it is is still here! We should find them.”

“Yeah, alright.” Jack stood up and the three boys began to make their way deeper inside.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lmao is anyone even still reading this


	10. Chapter 10

Alex groaned as he opened his eyes. It had been a rough night. He had only managed to get about an hour and a half's sleep in between harassment from his tormentors, pain from his injuries and anticipation of further injury – and what little sleep he had managed, he wasn't certain if it was from exhaustion or concussion.

He raised his head and listened hard. It was unusually silent. Slowly and gingerly, he got to his feet and made his way through the open door and down the dim corridor.

Suddenly, a crash from somewhere nearby made Alex flinch. The sudden movement caused pain to erupt all over his body and he collapsed onto all fours with a moan of pain. The sudden pressure on his already injured arm caused his wrist to snap like a dry twig. He gasped in pain, tears springing to his eyes and scrambled backwards, cradling his injured arm close to his chest. 

~

Jack suddenly let out a gasp. “His arm's broken!” He held up his left hand, which was now dangling uselessly from his wrist.

Rian looked horrified. “Should you go to the hospital?”

“No, it doesn't hurt, but I should tell the police, they want to know anything that could help them when they find him.”

It was Zack's turn to look alarmed. “The police?”

“Don't worry, we don't have to tell them where we were when it happened! They just-”

Suddenly, a gunshot echoed through the building. All three boys jumped, then turned to one another, eyes wide with panic. “Forget the police, we need to find somewhere to hide!” The three of them turned and hurried down the corridor, searching for a hiding place.

~

A gunshot rang out from the other side of the building, and Alex scrambled further backwards into the corner, trying to make himself invisible. As he moved, he knocked into a defunct old broom handle, causing it to topple over and land across his lap. He let out a muffled squeak of pain, biting down hard on his lower lip to try to keep the sound from escaping, but it was useless.

“Hello? Is there someone there?”


	11. Chapter 11

Alex held his breath, heart beating wildly in his throat. He didn't recognise the voice that had spoken as belonging to one of his captors, but that didn't mean that they were benevolent. He screwed his eyes shut as a wave of pain from his broken wrist pulsed through his body, but was unable to contain a tiny sound of pain that escaped through his lips. It was almost silent, but the unknown person must have heard, because now there were footsteps headed in his direction.

The footsteps stopped in the doorway. Alex opened his eyes and looked up in terrified anticipation, to see… three boys, around his own age, staring back at him in horror. The one at the front stepped forward and crouched down beside Alex. 

“What happened to you?” 

“I was kidnapped. You should leave, it's not safe here.” Alex turned his head slowly to look the boy in the face.

The boy's eyes widened in recognition. “Jack...”

One of the other boys came forward and knelt on Jack's other side. “Alex?”

Alex frowned in confusion. “How do you know my name?”

“You've been on the news, but… you're my soulmate.”

Surprisingly, the first emotion that crashed through Alex was relief. His soulmate wasn't a girl! Second was guilt. How was his father going to react when he found out? Would he even care that Alex had been saved? Or would his fury at having a gay son outweigh any relief? Third came terror. Absolute, reigning terror.

“No!” 

The boy – Jack – looked hurt. “What?”

“You can't be here! If they find you, they'll kill you, please, get out, it's not safe-”

“We can call for help!” Jack looked round at the boy still standing in the doorway, who nodded, pale faced, and pulled out his mobile.

Alex tried to force down the elation that was slowly rising inside him. There was no way that both he and these boys would get out of this unharmed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Should I save the boys?  
> Should I kill them?  
> What should I do?
> 
> You guys can decide ;)


	12. Chapter 12

Daisy March sat on the edge of her seat in the police car, her heart racing. Normally when they received a call from a teenage boy it was a prank call or some small injustice too petty for the police to bother with. This though, this was different. It was a lead on their missing persons case, Alex Gaskarth, but even that wouldn't normally have her so worked up and excited. No, Daisy was thinking about Jack Barakat. The boy already had a criminal record: minor theft, breaking and entering, under-age drinking, and loitering with malicious intent, but she had seen a change in the boy that was so profound it was like he was a different person. It seemed that when he had discovered the existence of his soulmate he had re-evaluated his lifestyle and had changed, hopefully for the better. He had worked easily with Daisy, taking an interest, becoming involved and attached that she had never thought possible of the boy. And now, Daisy was going to bring him his soulmate. 

When the car pulled up in front of the building, Daisy was pulled from her thoughts and back to the present. There was already a number of police and armed units around, as well as a handful of nosy bystanders. As she got out of the car, an ambulance pulled up, blue lights flashing.

“Daisy!” hailed one of the paramedics, jumping out of the ambulance, “what's the situation?”

“A group of teenagers and at least one known hostage, Alex Gaskarth. His injuries are known, as of this morning,” she handed over a piece of paper containing all the information that she had from Jack. The medic took it and scanned it, then turned and returned to his partner with a small smile of thanks.

Then Daisy turned back towards the building and rejoined the rest of her team. “What are we looking at?”

“Looks like a small-time drug lord wanted to make some extra cash, then realised the game went south and abandoned ship. No hostiles so far as we can ascertain, we're just waiting for the all clear.”

She nodded and fell into line beside her partner, one hand on her gun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look! An update! I haven't completely forgotten about this


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heeeeey guys
> 
> I'm so sorry it's been like a year ahhhhh
> 
> Anyway here's a chapter, please dont hate me uwu

Jack crouched beside Alex, Zack and Rian pacing between them and the door. About ten minutes ago, footsteps had passed through the corridor and stopped just outside the door. Jack, Rian and Zack had scrambled to hide behind the door, but it had remained closed, and the footsteps continued past without opening it.

Now they were hearing sirens dimly through the walls. 

Jack turned to Alex. “You hear that? We’re going to get out, I promise.”

Alex’s eyes were screwed up tightly. He didn’t respond.

Jack reached out and gently laid a hand on Alex’s shoulder. Alex’s face grew a little less pinched. His skin was cool to the touch.

“Hey, Alex?” Jack said, slightly alarmed. He moved his hand to Alex’s cheek. It was pale, cold, clammy. “Hey, don’t give up now yeah? Help’s almost here!” Moving carefully, he shifted Alex so that he was leaning slightly away from the wall, then positioned himself behind him, bracketing him with his legs, arms wrapped around his waist. He could have sworn that Alex leaned back into him slightly. 

Suddenly, there were running feet outside, followed by a single gunshot, then yelling. Jack tightened his arms instinctively around Alex, then looked up at Zack and Rian pleadingly. Zack looked around frantically and grabbed up a long piece of wood from the corner before crouching beside Jack and Alex, Rian close behind him with his fists clenched. 

The door flew open and Jack’s heart picked up, unsure if help had arrived or if they were all about to meet their deaths. 

“Who the fuck are you?” the man growled, looking around at Jack, Zack and Rian with narrowed eyes. 

“Who the fuck are you?” Zack retorted, brandishing his stick like a club.

Alex’s head flopped against Jack’s shoulder. “Alex?” Jack gasped, frantically, reaching up to support his head.

“Don’t move!” the man shouted. Jack looked up and felt his heart hit the ground, as he saw the man had Rian under his arm, the muzzle of a gun buried in his hair.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oops...?
> 
> I'll try not to leave it for another year this time I promise!


	14. Chapter 14

Daisy and her squad of officers crept round the corner, guns drawn, every nerve on edge. She had incapacitated one of the kidnappers with a single shot to the kneecap, but they knew that there were at least five others, possibly more. They had glimpsed what looked like around a million dollars worth of drugs in a store room, but no sign of any of the boys. 

“What’s that?” Robert stopped short, holding a finger to his lips and gesturing for Daisy to keep her gun ready. Robert peered round the door, then suddenly dashed round the frame. Daisy followed, along with the other six officers. 

“Drop the gun! We have you surrounded!” Eight guns were pointed at the man in the centre of the room, with a boy in his grip, and a gun in his own hand.

“I’ll shoot!” The man threatened.

“No! Please!” came another boy’s frantic voice from the corner. Daisy flicked her gaze to where he had spoken from. Alex Gaskarth was slumped over, clearly unconscious, and behind him was Jack Barakat, and another boy clutching a piece of wood, looking terrified. 

“If you shoot, you’re dead meat.” Charlie ground out through gritted teeth.

The man snorted a mirthless laugh. “And if I don’t shoot, you’ll what, let me go free?”

“You will have a fair trial. If you are compliant now, your sentence will be more lenient. Now drop the gun.”

“Yeah right. Bitch, I’m black, ain’t no way I’ll get a free trial.”

A gunshot rang out, echoing horribly through the small room, and one of the boys started screaming.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well my friends. I'm doing exactly what I hate authors doing but lmao I guess I'm just that much of a piece of shit welp what can u do  
> Enjoy this snippet of a chapter


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was going to make you wait for this one but I decided against it because I love ya really

Jack watched in horror as Rian dropped to the floor. He thinks that maybe there was the sound of other gunshots as the officers shoot the man, but all he can hear is the echoing of that one shot as Rian falls in slow motion before hitting the floor with a sickening thud. Someone is screaming. Maybe it’s Jack. Maybe it’s Zack. Maybe it’s everyone. Jack can feel blood spatter across his face, but he isn’t sure if it’s Rian’s or the man with the gun. He feels Alex’s head loll against his shoulder as he shakes with his screams, and oh, it must be him that’s screaming, because that’s his best friend on the ground, that’s fucking Rian, why isn’t he moving?

Paramedics rush into the room, Alex is taken from his arms and placed on a stretcher, Rian is moved, Zack is led from the room, still clutching his stick, someone covers the dead man’s body, someone is helping Jack to his feet, he thinks it’s Daisy but he can’t see, he doesn’t care. Where is Rian? Where have they taken him?

“Your friend? He has been taken to the hospital, where the doctors will save him. Don’t you worry about him. Let’s get you looked at, alright?”

“No, no, I’m fine, I’m okay, where’s Alex?”

“Mr Gaskarth has also been taken to the hospital. Thanks to your involvement, they already know the extent of most of his injuries, and it’s likely that he will make a full recovery.”

“I want to see Rian. And Alex.”

“Okay, that’s okay, we can take you to the hospital, but you won’t be allowed to see him without permission from his family I’m afraid. However, it’s probably a good idea to give you a check up anyway, okay?”

“Yeah. Yeah okay.” Jack allowed himself to be led into the back of an ambulance, where he was given a blanket. He wrapped himself in it and closed himself off from the medics and the police officers who tried to speak to him.


	16. Chapter 16

Peter Gaskarth was alerted by the police that his son had been located two hours prior. Since then he had walked about three miles up and down the corridor of the hospital. Alex was in surgery and had been for the past hour and a half. The doctors said that it looked hopeful, but he was likely to have some permanent scarring. One of the boys who was brought in with Alex wasn’t so lucky. Peter didn’t even know his name, but he knew that he was fighting for his life, with a bullet lodged in his skull. His parents were sitting in the waiting room, his mother sobbing quietly. Peter saw her once every forty eight seconds when his pacing brought him to her end of the corridor. He wondered if she would be able to afford to pay for her son’s surgery. He sought out a nurse.

“Excuse me-”

“Sir, we are very busy, I told you fifteen minutes ago, you will be informed as soon as there is any change in your son’s condition-”

“No, it’s not about that. The boy who was brought in with him, with the gunshot wound. Will he be okay?”

“I’m afraid I’m not at liberty to discuss other patients with you, Mr Gaskarth, but the boy’s mother is over there. She looks like she could use someone to cry on.”

“Of course. Thank you, nurse.”

She smiled and disappeared off through a door at the end of the corridor. Peter moved to sit beside the crying woman.

“Legs tired?” She asked with a weak smile.

“Uh, yes.”

“You’re Mr Gaskarth. The father.”

“Yes, but please call me Peter. I’m afraid I don’t know your name.”

“Kathi Dawson, this is my husband, Denis. My son’s also in surgery.”

“He’s a very brave boy. The officer told me the situation.”

“He always is. I’m so proud of him...” Her voice cracked and he broke down in sobs once again. Her husband put a consoling arm around her.

“Listen, I was wondering… Without your son, my Alex might be dead. I want to pay for Rian’s hospital bills, to say thank you. Will you let me?”

Kathi’s eyes widened. Denis spoke. “We’ll think about it.”

Peter nodded, then got to his feet and resumed pacing.


	17. Chapter 17

Jack sat on the small cubicle bed, still wrapped in the blanket, feeling numb. A nurse had put a drip in his arm, and had brought him another blanket, but he wasn’t sure of anything. His mum was sat beside him, murmuring to him occasionally, but he was just sitting.

“Hello, Mr Barakat, we just need to take your blood pressure, and if that’s all okay, you’re free to go.”

“How’s Alex?”

“We’ll let you know if that’s alright with his father, but he’s still in surgery at the moment.”

“I know.” Jack curled over himself miserably. 

“You do?”

“He’s my soulmate.”

“Ah, I see. Well, I’ll inform Mr Gaskarth about this, he may be keen to speak to you.”

“Thank you.” 

The nurse disappeared. Jack closed his mind once again.

~

“Excuse me, Mr Gaskarth?”

“Yes? What is it? Is there any news on Alex?”

“No, but we have his soulmate in cubicles.”

“His soulmate? But we don’t even know who that is! Can you show me?”

“Of course, follow me.” 

Peter followed the nurse as she led him to a curtained off cubicle. This was big. This was huge. Not only was he finally going to meet the girl his son is destined to spend his life with, maybe she will be able to give him some information about how Alex is doing in surgery. The nurse pulled back the curtain, to reveal – 

“I’m sorry, nurse, there must be some kind of mistake. This can’t be my son’s soulmate. This is a boy.”


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW - homophobia

Jack looked up in alarm. Who was this? “Mr Gaskarth?”

“Who are you? I was told my son’s soulmate was here. Where is she?”

“I am Alex’s soulmate.”

“Impossible. Alexander is not a fag.”

Jack recoiled. It had never occurred to him that Alex’s father might be in any way opposed to his son being soulmated to him.

“I- I’m not sure I understand.”

“Get out. Get the fuck out!”

“Excuse me sir, if you continue to be aggressive we may have to remove you from the premises.”

“I don’t care, my son is not a fag, and this pansy boy will never be his soul mate!” 

Jack scrambled backwards as Mr Gaskarth lunged for him across the bed. Jack’s mother and the nurse both moved to stand in front of him, and the nurse yelled for security.

“Not in my name! Not in my family! Not in my house!”

Jack closed his eyes, cowering against the headboard of the bed. He didn’t see the man who pulled Mr Gaskarth away, and he didn’t open his eyes when his mum placed a gentle hand on his arm, but he leaned into her gentle embrace and began to cry. Mrs Barakat shushed him softly, stroking his hair and rocking him until he finally fell asleep.


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am the worst kind of person. I am so so sorry for the timing of this update.

When Alex opened his eyes two days later, he saw no one he recognised. “Where’s my dad?” he asked the nurse who hovered over his bed, but the woman just gave him a pitying smile. 

“He’s not here right now, but I’m sure he’ll be back!” Alex nodded, trying not to appear as hopeless as he felt. He wasn’t stupid, he knew that his dad would probably only show up when Alex was well enough to go home.

“Where’s Jack?” 

This time the nurse brightened a little. “He’s your soulmate?” Alex nodded again, “He’s been in the hospital asking to see you. Unfortunately, your father didn’t give him visiting permission, but now that you’re awake, if you would like me to fetch him, I can, just after I’ve finished your checkups.”

“Yes, please.” Alex croaked, then closed his eyes while she changed his IV and replaced some bandages.

“-lex? Alex?” Alex opened his eyes again, to see Jack’s anxious face hovering in front of his eyes. He mus have fallen back to sleep, because he didn’t remember Jack getting there.p

“Jack,” Alex smiled, his lips feeling dry and chapped, “You okay?”

Jack let out a choked laugh, “Am I okay? You’re the one who’s in hospital, covered in bandages!”

“Yeah but I have no doubt that you know all about my injuries from your own body. What happened to my dad?” Alex’s heart sank even as he heard the words come out of his mouth. He knew what must have happened. If Jack had been specifically refused visiting rights, that must mean that Alex’s dad knew that they were soulmates, which could only be bad news.

Sure enough, Jack’s face fell, and he looked away. “He uh, wasn’t too happy when he found out that I was your soulmate. Listen, if you don’t want anything to do with me, that’s understandable, I mean he’s your dad, and you and me have only just met. We can pretend like we never knew each other if you want.”

Alex’s eyes widened. “No! No that’s not what I want,” Jack looked surprised, but relieved, “Now that my dad knows, he’ll never forgive me. I doubt whether he’ll even allow me back in the house. Jack, you’re all I’ve got now. Please don’t leave me.”

Jack let out a choked little cry. “Never. I’ll never leave you.” And he sent Alex a small smile, which Alex hesitantly reciprocated.


	20. Epilogue

Joyce Barakat watched from the window with a small smile on her face as her boys kicked a football around the back yard. Zack was holding a water gun and was squirting it at everyone and everything available. Jack and Alex were sporting matching scrapes on the left knee, and were currently yelling their own opposing commentary as they raced each other around the lawn, trying to take the ball from each other. Rian was lounging on a folding deck chair, cocktail glass of orange juice in one hand, shades on and a backwards baseball cap, pretending to soak up the October Baltimore sunshine. Joyce noticed with a slight smirk that he hadn’t turned down her offer of a warm blanket to wrap himself in. 

Still smiling to herself, she placed the last of the plates on the wrack, then poked her head out of the door. “Come on, boys! Dinner!”

The three boys on their feet dropped the water gun and the football and came tearing towards the house. Alex skidded to a halt by Rian and helped him to his feet, grabbing his crutches and handing them to him. As the boys filed into the kitchen, Joyce threw a small hand towel to each of them, calling “Dry yourselves, I won’t have you dripping water all around the house.” Using oven mitts, she placed a large dish of lasagne on the table, and watched as the boys dug in with enthusiasm.

“Thanks, mum!” called Jack, already with a mouth full.

“Thanks, Mrs Barakat!” chorused the rest of the boys in unison.

“What are you boys planning to do this evening?”

“The new strings for my guitar arrived today, so we were planning to work on our new song.” Alex said, reaching for the salad.

“Okay, but remember what I told you, you go acoustic by eleven or we’ll have the neighbours on our heels again.”

“Yes mum.” Alex nodded, then froze, looking up her with food halfway to his mouth, looking like a deer in headlights.

Joyce beamed. He had never called her mum before, despite having lived with them for over a year and a half now.

When dinner was over, Joyce dismissed Zack’s offer of help with the dishes. “No, you boys run along and play now!” They needed no further telling, scampering off to the garage with earnest. Alex paused at the door, looking back at her, a question clearly burning on his face.

“Mrs Barakat-”

“Joyce.”

“Joyce- do you ever regret it? Me?” he clarified, vaguely gesturing to himself.

She gasped and crossed the room to pull him into her arms. “Never. Not ever. Bringing you into my home, into our lives, was the best decision Jack and I have ever made.” Pulling away, she held him at arms length and looked him in the eyes, “I love you, Alex, never forget that.”

“Thank you Mrs B-... Joy-... Mum...” He looked at her anxiously.

She nodded, internally delighted. “Go make a loud noise with the boys.” He scampered away.

She turned back to the kitchen, listening to the sounds coming from the garage of guitars being tuned and the drum kit being set up. There was the screeching of microphone feedback, then Alex’s strong voice was shouting the introduction to their newest song.

“One, Two, One Two Three Four!

“Only a quitter  
Would let it go.  
I'm your fool in a one-man show.  
I was so bitter,  
'Til you came along.  
You set my sails when the tide was low.

“We're going down this road  
With tears in our rear view mirror.  
Far from home,  
But in the dark, you'll know,  
With me you've got nothing to fear.

“So let's run away.  
They will have to find another heart to break.  
Why don't we just run away?  
Never turn around, no matter what they say.  
We'll find our way.  
When the sun goes down  
On this town,  
There'll be no one left, but us.  
Just like runaways,  
They will have to find some other hearts to break, hearts to break.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well this has been a wild ride! Thank you so much to everyone who has been reading this since the beginning, I have treated you horribly and can only apologise. Thank you to everyone who has left me encouraging messages, and basically, if you enjoyed this, thank you for reading.

**Author's Note:**

> Come find me on [tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/unexpected-readings-of-poetry)


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